The Impossible Race: Cragbridge Hall, Volume 3 (13 page)

“It turns out . . . what?”

“You’re pretty predictable,” Abby said. “It’s like you feel you move higher in life if you can somehow push me lower.”

Jacqueline glared back with a nuh-uh face. A boy ran over and grabbed her hand. It was the same boy from the dance. “It’s getting started. Come on, Jackie.” She smiled and ran off with him.

“Oh, holding hands,” Carol said. “Looks like little miss prissy has a boyfriend who got her onto a team.”

“She is way too young to date,” Abby said, remembering what her parents had taught her.

“I know,” Carol said. “Like my mom says, ‘Up to fifteen, it’s doesn’t hurt to flirt. From sixteen on, you don’t have to wait to date. But until college or after, it’s too scary to marry.’”

Abby smiled. Carol definitely believed that it didn’t hurt to flirt.

“I just had an absolutely terrible thought,” Abby said.

“What?”

“What if Jacqueline learned the secret?” She spoke quietly to avoid listening ears. “She hates me. She hates that my grandfather got me into Cragbridge Hall. She would probably post the secret all over the school, all over the web. She’d call the news within five minutes.”

“Yeah, especially because she’d get to show off her pretty face and her cute clothes,” Carol said. “By the way, did you notice those red shoes she was wearing? Seriously cute.”

“Yeah, I totally noticed them,” Abby admitted.

“She’s such a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” Carol said. “Really cute sheep’s clothing.”

“Yeah,” Abby agreed.

“Except I’m not exactly sure how that phrase works,” Carol said. “First off, sheep don’t even have clothing, so I’m assuming we’re talking about wool coats. So how does a wolf get a wool coat? It’s not like it shears sheep. And it can’t sew; it doesn’t even have thumbs. And it can’t order clothes online. I really think we’re giving wolves a lot more credit than they deserve with that phrase.”

Carol had a point, Abby thought, though it wasn’t very useful.

“What’s worse,” Abby said, “is that if Jacqueline got the key and if Muns or someone who works for him contacted her, she might do whatever he wanted just to get ahead. And she might get others on her side too.”

Carol looked back. “That’s an awful thought.” She shuddered.

Abby and Carol found Derick, Rafa, Jess, and Malcolm by the George Washington shrub. A few minutes later Maria, Nia, and Piper showed up.

“Looks like you’re all together,” Anjum said through messaging. “Remember that we hooked up our rings and you gave me permission to track you. You can shut that off at any time, but it will be really helpful during our challenges. This will serve as a good trial run.” He cleared his throat. “And you should all know that I’m not going to be there. Sorry. I have a thing about crowds. In fact, I usually prefer not to interact with people face-to-face at all. It’s one of the reasons I’m so good at virtuality. But I’ll be watching the school’s feed and will be with you through your rings.”

Abby never would have guessed Anjum was anxious about crowds from their first meeting. Maybe they all had secrets.

“Welcome, everyone!” Sarah, the student body officer, walked out onto the stage, Landon right behind her. They weren’t wearing their blazers. It was too hot for that. They wore matching navy blue T-shirts with the words
Cragbridge Hall
in big white letters, and the question
Are you ready to Race?
beneath it. “Registration is closed. We have all our teams!”

Landon waited for the crowd to end their cheers and whistles before continuing. “There are fifty-two teams competing this year. Take a look.” He motioned toward the large screens along the sides of the stage. With the sun down, their light burst out of the darkness. The word
Revolution
scrolled across the screen with the image of a young man beneath it. Not bad for a team name. The teams had been encouraged to name themselves after something to do with history, literature, science—something education-based. A creative name would earn a small amount of points, but it would only make a difference if the final score was extremely close. An image of each person on the Revolution team flashed on the screen.

The next team name appeared on the screen—the Argonauts. The name came from a group of mythical Greek heroes who went on a search for the Golden Fleece. Abby had really liked a lot of what she knew about that story. As Abby watched to see the members of the team, Jacqueline’s face crossed the screen. Maybe Abby didn’t like the Argonauts as much anymore. They saw the Fellowship of the Race, Infantry 312, and about twenty others before it was their turn—the Spartans. Anjum had chosen the name. Derick wanted the 20th Maine after the soldiers who defended Little Round Top in the Civil War, but it wasn’t catchy enough. The Spartans were famous for being some of the fiercest warriors in history.

Abby’s face came on-screen. They must have pulled it from her original Cragbridge Hall application. She looked nervous, and a year younger. So much had happened since that photo was taken. She had found that she could contribute. She belonged at this school. She had saved her grandpa and her parents, and had protected the keys over time. But her stomach still filled with waves.

Carol’s picture was next. She looked a little younger and wore a large toothy grin. It looked like a glossy pic of an actress. It probably was. “We look goooooood,” Carol said, elbowing Abby. “Seriously, they might want to just give us the trophy right now.”

“I’m not sure looking good has anything to do with winning,” Abby said.

“Well, if it does, we’re off to a good start,” Carol said.

After all the teams had been introduced, Landon spoke again, outdoor lighting clicking on to illuminate him. “Remember that after every event, half of the teams will be eliminated. We start with fifty-two teams. So after the first round of competition, only twenty-six will remain. After the second round, there will be thirteen, and after the third, we’ll narrow it down to six. Those six teams will then compete in the final round for the championship.”

Abby swallowed hard. They would have to make each cut, always at least in the top half of the competition. Otherwise, they’d be eliminated, and someone else would find out the secret.

“The highest score,” Landon continued, “wins the trophy and will earn . . . the . . . prize.” He said the last words very awkwardly, like he wasn’t sure what to say after the trouble from the last announcement.

Sarah jumped in. “And now the clue that will tell you how to prepare for the first event in the Race. The clue is . . .” She paused dramatically, and held it an uncomfortably long amount of time. Several more sets of outdoor lighting turned on. “That there is no clue. This challenge is a bit different. As a committee, we decided to start off this year bigger and better than before. No preparation. So ready or not, here it is!”

No preparation? The Race was beginning right now?

“Team, this is crazy,” Anjum said in a group chat. “But I like it.”

“True to the name of the Race,” Sarah said, “this challenge will require your speed, knowledge, and skill with many of the inventions in this school. You are on the lookout for squares like this.” Sarah raised an object above her head. It also appeared on the screen for everyone to get a better look. It was barely larger than her palm, was mostly transparent, but had a navy blue border.

“I want you to move,” Anjum commanded. “Don’t worry about the instructions; I’ll patch you in. Derick and Rafa, go to the avatar lab. Get there fast. Jess and Piper, to the robotics shop.” Before Anjum could move on to the next order, the first four students were already on their way. The crowd seemed too excited to even notice them moving in the dark—except for Jacqueline. Abby saw her watching them. She started speaking with the boy she had been holding hands with earlier and pointed in their direction.

“As soon as anyone touches one of the squares,” Sarah continued to explain to the whole crowd from the stage, “it will read your fingerprint, give points to your team, and give you the next clue.”

“Malcolm, to the geography wing,” Anjum directed. “I’m in a virtual booth. Nia, you stay here. It may be where we get the first clue. Abby and Carol, to a Bridge lab.” Abby thought he sounded a bit more commanding as he mentioned their names.

As Abby and Carol began running to the closest Bridge lab, Abby saw several members of Jacqueline’s team get up and leave, jogging in different directions. They were copying their strategy.

“Each team will have a different route of clues.” Abby heard Landon’s voice explaining the challenge as she ran toward the Hall, the building where the Bridge labs were kept. “Some challenges are the same, some are different, and some come in a different order, but each journey has been determined fair by the committee. Follow the clue you gain from one square to find the next, and then the next. Each team will need to find seven squares. As soon as you have all seven, you have completed the challenge. The fastest team wins.”

Abby and Carol entered the doors of the building. Anjum was a genius. When they found their first square, they would already have their team scattered across the campus at different inventions. Even if the next clue didn’t lead to an invention they were at, they would have someone closer to where they needed to be than the other teams who were all gathered in the same place.

“Please turn on all the outdoor lights,” Landon said over the earpieces connected to Abby’s rings. She was jogging down the hall toward the Bridge lab. She had seen the campus lit up at night; it was like a football stadium during a night game. “There are squares in the branches of each tree surrounding this stage. Now, find one and BEGIN!”

“Nia, go!” Anjum commanded.

“I’m on it,” they all heard Nia say. She must have left her rings on, because they also heard her steps and her heavy breath and her feet as she ran. She sounded fast. Not a surprise for a member of the Crash.

“Everyone else to your positions as quickly as possible,” Anjum said. “Many of you aren’t there yet. Unless the clues really surprise me, this should pay off.”

They all heard rustling. “Dang tree. It had to be tall,” Nia’s voice came across the call.

“Don’t even pretend that’s hard, Nia,” Malcolm said. “You climb trees several times a day.”

“Yeah,” Nia answered, “but as a monkey. It’s . . .” she panted, “a bit more difficult as a human. Ouch! And it’s scratchy. I see it. Almost there.” After a few more seconds—“Got it. Come on, come on . . . It’s analyzing my fingerprint. Come on . . . This thing is slow.”

“Judging from what I can see from the broadcast, Nia, you were the fastest up a tree. Good work,” Anjum said.

“Okay, here we go,” Nia answered. “The clue is a list of words:
Think
,
Epic
,
Divine
,
Poem
,
Gates
,
Statue
,
Comedy
.”

“Unless someone has already guessed this clue,” Anjum said, “Derick and Rafa, use your rings to search all the words together. Malcolm and Maria search whichever words sound most unique to you together. Nia and Jess, no rings, just think how these could all work together. Piper, you take
divine
. It stands out to me. Search it with the others.”

“Maybe I should take
divine
too,” Carol said. “It fits me.”

“Abby and Carol, search whatever you want,” Anjum said.

Was he letting them do whatever they wanted because they naturally came at the end of the list, or was it because he didn’t trust them to take an assignment? Abby decided that it was best not to think about it and get to work.

They went through combination after combination.

“Epic poem,” Carol called out. “It sounds like something fitting for Cragbridge Hall. And I’ve got a list of them:
Paradise Lost
,
The Epic of Gilgamesh
,
The Divine Comedy
,
The Iliad
.”

“
Divine Comedy
,” Anjum said. “Those words are also in our list of clues. That’s the right track, Carol.”

She did it. The challenge had only been going for less than a minute and Carol had already proved she had a place on the team.

Relief, followed by jealousy.

“Wait. Wait. Wait,” Malcolm’s voice came over Abby’s earpiece. “What’s the
Divine Comedy
about? All I remember is that I was disappointed that it wasn’t funny.”

“Oh, I know that one,” Piper said. “It’s some guy’s journey through the kingdoms of the dead.”

“A story?” Maria said. “What are we supposed to do with a story? Read it aloud in the Chair?”

“We could study its history on the Bridge,” Abby suggested.

“Not yet,” Anjum responded. “What about the other words? Is there a statue in the poem? Gates? And what about the word
think
?”

“There are gates. Dante stops to think there,” Jess threw in, her voice quiet but firm. “At least that’s what my search says.”

“
The Thinker
!” Malcolm called out. “It’s a famous statue by Rodin, but some people think it’s supposed to be Dante thinking at the gates of h-e-double toothpicks. Sorry . . . I promised my mama that when I went away to school I wouldn’t swear or drink or smoke.”

“It’s different when it’s part of an epic poem,” Maria said.

“Not for me,” Malcolm said. “Or my mama.”

“Isn’t there a copy of
The Thinker
somewhere on campus?” Derick asked.

“Just outside the math hall,” Anjum said.

“And going into math is kind of like the gates of h-e-double hockey sticks,” Carol said. “Someone was really thinking on that one.”

Abby heard giggling across the wire.

“Malcolm is closest,” Anjum said. “Run to the statue! Run! Run! Run!”